Creamy Mushroom Hotpot
A hearty hotpot like this never fails to be a crowd-pleaser, with crispy, golden brown potato slices concealing a mushroom, carrot and lentil filling in a creamy vegetable gravy. It’s the ultimate comfort food that nobody will care is gluten free, with no fancy free-from products required. See the TIPS below for more info on what I use to quickly slice the potato, ensuring they’re all the exact same thickness and all cook at the same speed. Serve with a side salad or steamed/boiled veggies.
Credited to: Becky Excell
Kcal:
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil spray
- 1 small onion or 100g leek, finely chopped
- 750g frozen sliced mushrooms
- 4 medium carrots, cut into 1cm (½in) dice
- 1 tsp garlic paste (optional)
- 2 x 400g cans of lentils, drained
- 1 tbsp tomato purée (paste)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 litre gluten free vegetable stock, for the hob, or 800ml stock, for the slow cooker (made with 2 stock cubes)
- 200g cream cheese
- 3 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch) or potato starch, mixed with 6 tbsp water
- 6 medium potatoes, sliced 3mm (⅛in) thick
- 10g parsley leaves, finely chopped, to serve (optional)
Method
Oven or hob
- To cook using the hob and oven, preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/Gas Mark 6
- Spray the base of a large ovenproof pot with oil and place over a medium heat.
- Once hot, add the onion or leek and fry until the onion is browned or the leek has softened. Add the mushrooms, carrots and garlic paste, if using, and fry until the mushrooms are defrosted and have released liquid into the pan. Add the lentils, tomato purée, salt, pepper and stock, then stir well. Stir in the cream cheese, then add the starch slurry and quickly mix it in. Simmer for 10–15 minutes or until the sauce has nicely thickened.
- Top with the potato slices, overlapping slightly, then spray generously with vegetable oil and bake in the oven for 40–45 minutes or until the potato slices are crisp at the edges. Top with the chopped parsley, if using, and serve.
Slow cooker and oven
To cook using a slow cooker and oven, lightly grease the base of the slow cooker by spraying it with oil. Add all the ingredients except the cream cheese, starch slurry, potatoes and parsley, then stir well.
Pop the lid on and cook on low for 6–7 hours or on high for 3½ hours. Around 20 minutes before it’s done, stir in the cream cheese and starch slurry, then cover with the lid once again for the remaining time.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/Gas Mark 6. Transfer everything to a large ovenproof pot or suitably-sized roasting dish. Top with the potato slices, overlapping slightly, then spray generously with vegetable oil and bake in the oven for 40–45 minutes or until the potato slices are crisp at the edges.
